Sunday, July 13, 2008
Santa Ana Star Casino, Bernalillo, NM: June 1-2
So if we're supposed to be in Chaco on June 1, what are we doing in a casino parking lot north of ABQ in 95-degree weather without air conditioning? Roasting! About six miles south of Cuba, just about half-way to Chaco, we heard unpleasant noises coming from the front of the truck and saw bits of black bouncing down the road behind us -- neither one ever a good sign. Fortunately the break-down lane was wide enough to accommodate us -- barely! Lifting the hood revealed a broken belt -- THE belt, the serpentine belt which does everything in newer vehicles. Naturally we were out of cellphone range, but within five minutes a local rancher had spotted us and turned around to help. He knew where we could get a signal & drove Doug there so he could call our Emergency Service. This was around 12:30. It took a while for them to locate Cuba & the milepost where we were, and to find a towing service capable of handling our rig on a Sunday. Finally, one was found and said they should be there in about 2 hours (~3pm). And, their automated phone will call us 15 minutes after the ETA to make sure all is well. I explained that that would be pointless, since we were out of range. This information apparently fell on deaf ears.
We later discovered from voicemail that the towing service (Roadrunner, in case you need someone to boycott) called to ask what type of truck we had. Having left a message, we can only surmise our folder was then tossed into the "Out" bin. No other vehicles stopped after that until a State Highway Patrol car (off duty) pulled up just after 3. He had Dispatch call our Emergency Service to see what the delay was, and after another long wait, was told the new ETA was 4:30pm. They finally arrived around 5:30, took one look at us, and asked "Do you have a ride back?" Well, (they explained) they tried to call to see if anyone needed a ride, but no one answered, so they just assumed we'd somehow sublimated our way back to Albuquerque, so they came out there in a 2-person tow truck. "Albuquerque? (we queried) We thought we were going to Cuba." On no!!! (they again) You'd have to wait until Tuesday just for the parts in Cuba, and we know this great dealer in ABQ that does great work blah blah blah (and did we mention he's really great?) who will have you out by noon on Monday. But first (they continued) we have to get a courtesy vehicle out here to take you back, and he'll be here almost before we've got you hooked up.
They had us hooked up before 6pm, and then we sat in uncomfortable silence punctuated by strained attempts at conversation by both parties. The ride finally came at 6:45, and we drove back to less than 20 miles from where our adventure had started almost 12 hours earlier. The roads in the state park (our original destination for camping) were far too narrow to handle a triple-tow, so they dropped us off at the nearby casino, happy to be rid of those two lunatics & their cats, we're sure. The feeling was mutual!! The next morning they towed our truck to the "great" dealer (Melloy Auto, in case you need another boycott) and I called to warn them it was on the way. I was immediately put off when the receptionist asked who my "service advisor" was -- I've dealt with dealers with service advisors before and never been satisfied. They assured me that they would look at our truck "first thing". Then I made the mistake of mentioning that I saw water pouring out when the belt broke, and that it probably ruptured a radiator hose. They called back in the early afternoon to say they had the belt but not the hoses, and that they couldn't finish it by closing today anyway, so they would call tomorrow when it was done. Another night in the roaster, wishing we were in Cuba. They did call the next morning, and it was fixed, and they sent a shuttle over, and we paid their exorbitant bill, and I looked under the hood and everything looked okay, except I noticed that the windshield washing fluid was low, so I poured the spare gallon in, only to see it pouring out exactly where I noticed water pouring out when the belt broke. So I went to my "service advisor" ("Kris") who said yeah, his mechanic told him he tried to fill that, but the reservoir was cracked. Well something is cracked here, I thought, but it's not my reservoir. Didn't you check the coolant level? Or the hoses? Did you just assume the hoses were broken? Huh? (he eloquently responded) Oh yeah -- the coolant was low, and the hoses, they were in really bad shape (but they never showed them to us).
We must mention, that despite the fact of being fairly smoky, the Santa Ana Star Casino was quite hospitable and would be a great place for boondocking when it wasn't quite so hot. They are VERY RV-friendly and shuttled us to and from the casino whenever we wanted. We joined their "club" and got the card and were able to get breakfasts for $1.99 and since we were over 50, we could have the half-price senior discount at the buffet on Monday. This buffet was $4 at lunchtime (11-3) and went all the way up to $5 for dinner. We ate before 3 to save the $2 (after all, we had to start making up for the $600 auto rip- off!!) and it was delicious! The casino also had some fun penny slots, but that didn't help in our "saving money" plans!
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 5:38 PM 
